this whole question is one of influence of a particular musician in their particular field, not who does something better, or did somebody do something first… everyone on earth can sing better than Dylan… people should stop acting like they don’t know what this thread is about… there is no way that (________) influenced, musicians, and future music or production as much or in the way that Dylan did… stop lying 
I was involved quite heavily in the local roots scene so I know Dylan’s influence is very wide. I know he has influenced many artists I love. There is a local joke(I think it’s local but maybe not) that’s a simple question among fellow musicians, Neil or Bob? My answer? Bob!..Seeger! And I’m not joking!
Seriously, while I can acknowledge his skills you could not pay me to actually listen to Bob Dylan. No thanks!
Having said that if I was to try and draw some sort of analogue? I would look to the poetry of the lyrics, the effectiveness of the arrangement, the scope of the works, and the influence of said artist. I could only think of one and she hasn’t been mentioned.
Björk
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I’d say Bob too…Marley.
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Not on topic, but there is something to say about an artist that can capture a room not only solo but also unplugged. To all that can, I admire the talent!
I’m no fan but people in the US who are regard Dylan as being the first pop artist that presented their own world view. He wrote the songs, the words, and it was his vision and his alone. Pop musicians before, like Elvis and Sinatra, we’re front men that played other people’s music. They really didn’t have “a vision” at all.
So that’s how he influenced The Beatles, etc, who all sound A LOT BETTER lol.
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He ain’t alone in today’s world. Lucky for me I’m not that Educated.
So many lols reading through this thread. My highlights:
(to be read in the voice of Alan Partridge)
“Who’s better Beethoven or the beach boys?”
As John Cleese
“What did the Beatles ever do for us?”
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Roads! They’ve made roads for us! Abbey roads!
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Skrillex is the Maroon 5 of dubstep.
Pendulum are The Offspring of drum and bass.
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That IS a perfect one.
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Yeah, they both do a good job of making a great music genre sound cheesy. 
They also both started as credible musicians and totally sold out…
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Have you ever tried crossing Abbey Road? Nightmare.
In terms of melody, I would start with Double Figure. That was the first Plaid album I heard and still my favourite. Spokes is also great but a lot more dense.
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Yeah, Double Figure is more accessible and a good place to start for sure. Spokes is indeed more dense, and maybe the least accessible Plaid album…but that’s also part of what makes it so innovative and out of this world. Took me a while to get my head around it but over time…listening to Cedar City for example, which is probably the most dense/least accessible track, I went from thinking what the hell is going on, to bloody hell that is so amazing and uplifting.
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Both plaid albums mentioned here are super nice. Thanks for the recommendation.
Only knew their latest 3 albums
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That describes my experience of listening to Spokes pretty accurately. I think of it as a bit of an outlier in their discography but no less brilliant for that. Definitely rewards deep listens. I might play it this afternoon. 
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Their soundtracks for Tekkon Kinkreet and Heaven’s Door are also amazing. I might consider the track below as the most beautiful piece of electronic music I ever heard. Great anime film too.
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I love the polymer album and the dancers video, superb, saw them on tour a couple of years back supporting orbital
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